USS Bataan fit for return to sea

After spending a year in the harbor conducting major shipyard maintenance, U.S. Navy’s Amphibious assault ship USS Bataan (LHD 5) completed sea trials February 1.

Sea trials are conducted after ships complete major shipyard maintenance and tests the ship’s systems and to make sure the ship is ready for deployment.

The ship’s repair officer, Chief Warrant Officer 3 Aaron Dowdy, said: “Sea trials provided the ship with a series of tests and validations in order to test newly installed, modified or overhauled equipment. Major equipment that needed testing included radars, the ship’s propulsion system and the countermeasure wash down system, which is designed to defend the ship against chemical, biological and radiological attack.”

Bataan’s crew has been working many months in preparation for sea trials. The ship’s maintenance period started in February 2015 in BAE Shipyards with the ship going into drydock. The crew spent months prior to that identifying maintenance needs and requesting them through the ship’s maintenance system.

Dowdy further said: “After a long shipyard period, it feels great to get the ship back out to sea. I’m extremely happy with the way the crew has come together and performed.”

Once sea trials are completed, the ship will begin its training and qualification cycle. Sailors will train and then be tested to show they are ready for the ship’s next deployment.

Bataan is scheduled to begin the basic phase of the Optimized Fleet Response Training Plan in order to prepare for future deployments.

Bataan is the fifth ship of the Navy’s Wasp-class ships and is the second U.S. Navy warship to bear the name. The first Bataan, CVL-29, was an Independence-class small aircraft carrier that was commissioned in November 1943. After serving in both World War II and the Korean conflict, CVL-29 was decommissioned in 1954.